Former Bachelorette Leads Gave Fantasy Suites Advice To Taylor Frankie Paul

If you’ve already breezed through The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Season 4, you know that Taylor Frankie Paul had a fraught journey to The Bachelorette — one that included an eleventh-hour meeting with her ex, Dakota Mortensen, and left her feeling so drained it wasn’t clear she would make it to Bachelor Mansion at all.

Taylor ultimately rallied, making it to Los Angeles just in time for her debut as Season 22’s game-changing lead. And hours before limo arrivals, she was welcomed with a sweet surprise that softened her nerves. As seen in the March 15 preview special, Before the First Rose, 18 former Bachelorette leads (including the show’s first Golden leading lady, Joan Vassos) gathered to welcome Taylor into the fold and share some much-needed advice.

Of course, the discussion included some candid chat about intimacy — both in and out of fantasy suites.

Bachelorette Dos & Don’ts

As the women lounged around in matching rose-red sweatsuits, Season 11 lead Kaitlyn Bristowe opened up about sleeping with suitor Nick Viall before fantasy suites.

“It was really in that moment that I went, Oh, this doesn’t feel right, so I think Fantasy Suites are important,” she said. “Off-camera, intimacy, no matter what that looks like to somebody — I do think you get a lot of clarity in those moments.”

Taylor couldn’t help but wonder: “Do you, I guess... do you hook up with multiple [men]?”

Kaitlyn playfully pumped her fist with an enthusiastic “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Later, Kaitlyn said, “honesty is the best policy” as a lead. Although she clarified, it does not necessarily mean sharing intimate details of another date with your current one.

“Or you could ... I did do that,” Hannah Brown said, sharing the time Luke Parker said he’d leave the show if Hannah was having sex with other contestants — prompting her to reveal she already had. “It was just something that had to be done,” she told Taylor.

Hannah also used Luke’s critical reaction — and eventual switch-up at the rose ceremony, where she had to physically move the rose podium to get away from him — as a lesson for the new lead. “If a guy says he loves you, then flips that way, then he doesn’t love you,” she said.

Elsewhere, Season 5 lead Jillian Harris sent in a very practical reminder by video. “I didn’t shave my legs on the very first date, and we ended up having a pool party,” she said. “And I ended up on Jason Mesnick’s shoulders with hairy legs. So shave your legs, embrace the moment.”

Big Decisions Await

In addition to chatting through the flirtier parts of filming, Taylor’s Bachelorette forebears advised her about some of the tough aspects.

Season 13 lead Rachel Lindsay told Taylor that she “underestimated how hard it was” to send people home. “This person just poured their soul out to me, and I knew as much as I cared about them they weren’t the one,” she said, seemingly referring to her split from runner-up Peter Kraus. “And so that’s something I think you should be aware of, because I wasn’t. And it rocked me.”

While not every season ends in a lasting love match, Season 1 lead Trista Sutter reminded Taylor that it is possible, looking back on the early days with her now-husband, Ryan Sutter.

“His humor came out. He had me rolling. We also had really steamy moments,” she said, nodding to the pair’s hot-tub makeout session during fantasy suites. (“I’m gonna need to take a dive into that ice water... immediately,” Ryan said at the time.)

Overall, the special wasn’t so much a guidebook as an encouraging send-off.

“Who knows if Taylor’s gonna take our advice? And honestly... I don’t care,” Hannah laughed at the end of the special, clarifying that she didn’t mean that in a bad way. “Just do your thing, girl!”